You’re sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee when chest pain strikes like a lightning bolt. The feeling — which many compare to getting an electrical shock — lasts only an attention-grabbing moment. Some types of chest pain should send you to the emergency room — do not let guilt or shame threaten your recovery particularly if it lasts for at least five minutes. A doctor can diagnose the cause of pain after swallowing and provide options for treatment and symptom management. People can purchase over-the-counter medications to relieve occasional acid reflux and indigestion.

Spirits are less likely to trigger heartburn and beer is probably even worse for acid reflux than wine. Learn which symptoms could signal trouble and which are probably something else. Drinking too much alcohol over a long period of time, however, can cause long-term effects on the heart. These include an increased risk of heart disease, irregular heartbeat, and can even lead to a heart attack or death. Chronic drinking can weaken the heart muscle and lead to alcohol-related cardiomyopathy.

Another reason your chest may hurt

The symptoms also may be related to carcinoid syndrome, or to a genetic mutation more often found in people of Asian ethnicity. He had periodic fevers, night sweats, and general malaise. Imaging and biopsy of one of the abnormal lymph nodes led to the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This article discusses these conditions, some of which may be quite serious.

This concentration of alcohol can increase blood pressure. Whether your chest hurts after drinking alcohol or you’re just feeling unwell, contact your local medical professional for help. The best way to prevent alcohol chest pain is to cut back on your alcohol consumption or stop drinking. Seeing a doctor to determine the underlying cause of your chest pain will provide you with more information so you can make an educated decision about changing your drinking habits. Too much alcohol can have negative side effects such as raising blood pressure and heart rate. It also increases the possibility of dehydration in some people, because it has a diuretic effect.

Pinpoint chest discomfort

This condition can cause chest pain that worsens when you inhale or cough. Chest pain appears in many forms, ranging from a sharp stab to a dull ache. In certain cases, the pain travels up the neck, into the jaw, and then spreads to the back or down one or both arms. Chest pain on your right side can be caused by muscle strain, heartburn, or another underlying condition. With this laparoscopic surgery, your doctor sews the top of your stomach around your esophagus. This tightens the sphincter, preventing stomach acid from flowing upward.

• This happens when the food we eat does not travel properly from the esophagus down to the stomach.
• Chest pain after eating is usually experienced by middle-aged people.
• Resources are available for people who desire help to stop drinking alcohol or reduce their intake.
• Drinking too much wine also increases blood pressure and weakens heart muscles.
• If a person frequently experiences pain in the chest when swallowing, they should speak with a doctor.

Chronic alcohol consumption may affect blood pressure and heart rhythm, which may cause chest pain. Alcohol can also increase anxiety, which may result in panic attacks and chest pain. If your chest hurts after drinking alcohol, do not ignore it.

Chest Pain After Drinking Alcohol: Why Does It Happen?

A heart attack results from blocked blood flow, often from a blood clot, to the heart muscle. The classic symptoms of heartburn — a painful, burning sensation behind the breastbone — can be caused by problems with the heart or the stomach. A variety of conditions can cause chest pain when you swallow, such as GERD, esophagitis, or a hiatal hernia.

Alcohol also affects your blood sodium levels, which is an electrolyte that helps your blood cells move and helps your blood vessels contract. Consuming alcohol with lithium, a medication used to treat bipolar disorder, can have dangerous side effects. This article will use the terms “male,” “female,” or both to refer to sex assigned at birth.

Wine contains acidic agents and increases the acidic environment of the stomach. This causes an inflammatory response in your gut and might trigger a condition called alcoholic gastritis. Atherosclerosis causes thickening of heart arteries and compromises the blood and oxygen supply to the heart resulting in ischemia, heart attack, and heart failure.

Symptoms that suggest another problem

If you experience pain or have unusual symptoms after drinking alcohol, make an appointment to talk to your healthcare provider. A panic attack or anxiety can reveal itself with symptoms — chest tightness, sweating, shortness of breath — that mimic those of a heart attack. There are some key differences alcohol abuse vs alcohol dependence between a panic attack and a heart attack, though. Alcohol can cause short-term side effects like increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and dehydration. These are risks that many people are okay to take, knowing that these effects will only last for a short period of time.

Hangover Chest Pain: Why Chest Hurts After Alcohol

Hangover, the consequence for overindulging in too many booze can come with many severe symptoms. Chest pain day after drinking alcohol is not uncommon for dedicated drinkers with a long history of binge drinking. Chest pain after heavy drinking may occur several hours after the last sip depending on individual body functions. A hangover chest pain should not be ignored as it could be fatal. Eating the wrong kinds of food is a sure cause of chest pain. An unhealthy diet and improper eating habits can lead to gastritis and burning chest pain.

In most cases, it’s either the high acidity or the high sugar content that triggers symptoms. Energy drinks when consumed in high amounts are likely to cause adverse health effects such as abdominal pain or stomach cramps. The risk is higher when drinking energy drinks after physical exercise.

Alcohol-related chest pain isn’t always a cause for concern, but it can also be a symptom of a serious underlying condition. In some cases, even a single instance of chest pain after drinking can be indicative of a more serious problem. People may also take OTC or prescription medications, or, in some cases, have surgery to prevent reflux. Seeking treatment is important, as GERD can increase the risk of other conditions, such as strictures or esophageal cancer.

Alcohol is a depressant, which means it suppresses the nervous system. It can initially make people feel more relaxed and less inhibited. Quitting alcohol and staying sober isn’t easy, but it’s a life-changing decision that you surely won’t regret. A medically-assisted alcohol detox program can ensure that you get sober safely and comfortably with professional support. Yes, according to BUPA, energy drinks might cause not only diarrhea but also nausea and vomiting. If you think you have a food allergy, it is important to get yourself tested, as food allergies might have very severe symptoms.

When this happens, your body is deprived of fluids, which causes your body to signal you to drink more. Research studies provide a very clear correlation between chronic and excessive alcohol abuse and high blood pressure. Over time, hypertension puts a lot of strain on the heart muscle, which can lead to heart attacks, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. Alcoholism often presents with chest pain day after drinking accompanied by other symptoms. Drinking too much wine also increases blood pressure and weakens heart muscles.

An esophageal tear, or perforation, happens when there’s a hole in your esophagus. These contractions in the esophagus are uncoordinated and disorganized. In this case, the presence of a tumor may block or pinch the esophagus. It is not known whether this reaction to alcohol reveals nutritional therapy for alcohol use disorder or predicts anything about the severity or outcome of the Hodgkin’s disease. Moving around and changing positions only seems to make it worse, too. A fleeting burst of pain slams your chest, and a terrifying two-word combination — HEART ATTACK — immediately enters your thoughts.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. People with Hodgkin lymphoma may develop a variety of symptoms. The most common scenario at diagnosis is enlarged lymph node and nothing else. There is a long history of this association between alcohol and pain in Hodgkin’s disease.